“This one of the most difficult days of my life,” Rush said in the statement. “If there is any comfort at all, it is in knowing that Carolyn is no longer suffering and that she has returned to our Father in Heaven. I will always cherish her. She was everything to me. I am devastated.”

In September 2013, Rush took a leave from Congress because his wife was sick, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Politico later reported that Carolyn Rush had open-heart surgery, as well as other surgeries and health issues, which caused the congressman to spend time away from D.C.

In 1999, the couple's son, Huey Rich, died at 29 years old after being wounded in a Chicago shooting.